Senior Legal Counsel—Litigation, Investigations & Regulatory Enforcement

Chicago, ILFull-time$160k–$272kPosted Jul 23, 2026

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

This position reports to the Global Head of Litigation, Investigation & Regulatory Enforcement. The Litigation, Investigation & Regulatory Enforcement group has a global mandate, advising all Northern Trust entities on an array of legal matters, including pre-litigation business problems, corporate and representative litigation, government inquiries, cyber, privacy and internal investigations. This role will focus on general corporate litigation, litigation arising out of non‑fiduciary client services, internal investigations and regulatory enforcement matters.

Major Duties:

Manages and supports all aspects of pending and threatened litigation, new or ongoing investigations and a variety of regulatory enforcement matters for Northern Trust’s Legal Department.
Develops appropriate strategy in consultation with senior internal counsel. Implements strategy and proactively coordinates deliverables with internal and external partners.
Reviews, revises and makes timely recommendations to senior internal counsel regarding memoranda, motions practice and draft agreements proposed by outside counsel.
Advises Northern Trust partners on litigation strategy and risk.
Oversees internal discovery efforts with or without outside counsel, including coordination with internal e-discovery team about document identification, searching, collection, and production.
Drafts, facilitates and implements legal hold notices.
Leads and supervises factual investigations in connection with a wide range of legal issues to identify problems and to support pending and potential litigation, investigations and regulatory enforcement.
Effectively and respectfully interacts with partners (e.g., relationship managers, Risk/Compliance, Tax, Legal Department, Human Resources) or external parties (e.g., regulators, other financial institutions, investigations staff) in the course of information gathering, as appropriate.
Conducts complex research and timely prepares summaries of findings.
Provides assistance in responding to regulatory inquiries and complaints.
Responsible for preparing partners, with or without the assistance of outside counsel or senior internal counsel, for deposition and trial/hearing testimony.
Supports team tracking and reporting requirements.
Handles assorted miscellaneous litigation matters with minimal supervision.
Researches and recommends hiring of and works collaboratively with outside counsel and other legal and forensic vendors.

Knowledge/Skills:

This role requires collaboration, confidence, insightfulness and tech-savvy. The candidate must have strong leadership, analytical abilities and judgment. The position also requires exceptional communication and organizational skills to work effectively and cooperatively with internal and external clients, management and staff and to coordinate business functions with other departments on dozens of matters simultaneously.

Experience:

Must possess a J.D. degree from an accredited law school and must meet attorney licensing requirements in the jurisdiction in which the position will be located, prior to and after commencing employment.
Must have a valid license to practice law in Illinois and at least 5 years as a lawyer with a full-time business litigation practice and experience advising clients in highly regulated industries. An ideal candidate also will have represented financial services clients in litigation and regulatory enforcement matters.
Must have experience as the lead lawyer preparing witnesses and supervising complex discovery in business litigation.
Must have experience with subpoena and discovery responses, including document identification, collection, and production. A successful candidate will understand written and electronic discovery well-enough and will learn Northern Trust’s data map well-enough to, for example, spot problems with discovery suggestions from outside or opposing counsel and advise senior internal counsel accordingly.
Must have familiarity with legal holds, document management applications (such as Everlaw, Relativity, Concordance, Nebula, etc.) and secure electronic document sharing (such as FTP sites).
This is a hybrid role located in Chicago, Illinois, and will work out of Northern Trust’s offices in downtown Chicago at least three days per week.

Working Model: Hybrid (#LI-Hybrid)

We have a balanced hybrid working model to ensure you get the flexibility you need, and the successful candidate will spend their time between working in the office and working from home.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa)

Salary Range:

$160,100 - 272,300 USD

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

Work Authorization

Working with Us

As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve.

Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities.

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com, or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.